Exercising During Chemotherapy Improves Tumor-Fighting Ability

Exercising while undergoing chemotherapy enhances the tumor-fighting ability of the treatment, a new research shows.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania conducted the study on mouse models having melanoma. They found that chemotherapy and exercise significantly reduced the size of the tumors.

"The immediate concern for these patients is, of course, the cancer, and they'll do whatever it takes to get rid of it," said Joseph Libonati, director of the Laboratory of Innovative and Translational Nursing Research. "But then when you get over that hump you have to deal with the long-term elevated risk of cardiovascular disease."

Researchers conducted the experiments on four groups of mice. All of them were injected with melanoma cells in the scruffs of the necks. The team then administered two groups with doxorubicin in two different doses for two weeks. The remaining two were put on placebos. One mice from the treated groups and one from the placebo group were placed on an exercise routine. They had to walk five days a week on a mouse-sized treadmill.

After two weeks, the study team looked into hearts of the mice with the help of an echocardiogram and tissue analysis. The found that doxorubicin reduced heart function as well as its size and firbrosis formed. The mice that exercised were not protected from the damage.

However, researchers found that mice that had chemotherapy and exercise combination had drastic reduction in tumor size after two weeks compared to the mice that just received the common cancer drug.

"If exercise helps in this way, you could potentially use a smaller dose of the drug and get fewer side effects," Libonati said.

The findings of the study were published in the American Journal of Physiology.